It sucks that flying squirrel had burned it was nice if you did not want to go down the run all the way. Sad about cold springs lift I hope to see it. Considering that it is its last year! It will be the first riblet I will ever see. Considering I’ve never skied it.
You should have been there for the single chairs with tarps over the legs. I do miss Squirrel chair but the Cold Springs chair is nice in that it is out of the wind and sunny. But new chair opens 400 acres of off-piste and it opens in ’19.
Just curious, in the spreadsheet, why are the modified Yan detachables at Sun Valley labeled as being Doppelmayr lifts, while all the other converted Yan detachables are labeled as Yan lifts?
Do you still have the pictures of the Yan Detachable terminals, grips, chairs, etc in the Cold Springs Boneyard on your computer?
I’d love to see them and any other pre-modified Yan detachable/ Boneyard Yan pictures. Thanks!
I checked out the boneyard today. I couldn’t find the bubble chair, but I was able to find the rest of the Yan quad chairs, along with two Doppelmayr EJ chair frames, one Thiokol triple chair, and a few Yan triple chairs. They also have some old haul ropes with grips still attached. I was able to find a couple Yan towers and sheaves around the area. It looks like another Stadeli handle tow had been brought to the boneyard. Could it be the lift that the carpet lift replaced at River Run?
I find it ironic that the bubbles on the Yan quad look like they’re in better shape than many Doppelmayr lifts built around the same time. At least Yan could build bubble chairs well.
No plans to replace Christmas and Frenchman’s that I know of. Challenger and Greyhawk being replaced by a HSS this summer and a new HSQ from Warm Springs to near the top of Upper Picabo.
Given that the YAN HSQs that were built for SV in 88 will be coming up on 30 years or already are, do you think we’ll see some replacements announced in the not too distant future? I realize that Doppie upgraded those lifts in the 90s, however, did they touch the drive gear, or just the carriers?
It’s a mix at Sun Valley some of the Yans have had full driveline retrofits but it appears they have done them only as needed, you can tell by looking at the drive terminal bull wheels some are all Doppelmayr some still have yans a cast steel center but a new wheel mounted.
After the Cold Springs replacement, I heard a (somewhat) credible rumor that the next two lift projects in the works are Mayday and Challenger replacements. Mayday Express would be a detachable quad starting slightly further downhill closer to Seattle Ridge’s base terminal. Challenger 2.0 would be a gondola and used in both summer and winter. The timeline is definitely a handful of years down the road but will apparently be fast-tracked if there is a large increase in visitors due to the Epic Pass this winter.
I just checked an appendix in one of the biographies about Riblet. It says they built a lift there in 1957 that was 4,500 ft long. No name attached to the lift, but that’s about the right length for Ridge.
There was a short lived Riblet double that preceded the Sunnyside triple that is completely absent from this spreadsheet. When the triple was installed, the Riblet was removed and sold to 49 Degrees North WA where it operates to this day as Silverlode https://liftblog.com/west-basin-4-49-north-wa/
I’d say for the six pack replacement of River Run to have a midstation where the top terminal of River Run currently is, before continuing up to where Sunnyside’s top terminal used to be. When I was at Sun Valley in 2015, I noticed that the River Run lift and the green beneath it was used by a lot of beginners and lessons. Plus a midstation would provide direct access to Lookout Express like the current River Run does.
That was kinda what I was thinking: that there would be a mid-unload turn station where River Run currently unloads for beginners and those headed directly to the Lookout Express, before continuing up Sunnyside’s lift line.
I was up at Sun Valley this week (unfortunately, not for skiing), but it got me thinking about improvements. I like your vision, especially when it comes to the River Run replacement. I guess here is what I would do differently…
1. Put the future gondola at the River Run base, next to Roundhouse Express. It seems they want the gondola to bring non-skiers to their lodges at off-hours/off-season times, and they will want something to take people to the new Lookout Lodge, whenever it is built. River Run is becoming the main base area and they already use the Roundhouse gondola for a similar mission, so why not put both off-hours lifts together? It would also add a second bottom to top lift at Baldy and fit with their dream/plan to add a gondola connecting the Sun Valley Resort to Dollar Mountain and the River Run base (https://www.ecosign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/sunvalley-gondola.jpg). Guests could go from the Sun Valley Lodge to the top of Baldy with 2 gondola rides.
1a. Obviously this gondola would have to serve as a replacement for the current Lookout Express because of the alignment. I think that would be fine, but if they found enough people didn’t want to proceed all the way to the base, they could always put in a new Lookout lift, just moving the top station over so the gondola station could fit between it and Christmas.
2. Make the new Challenger lift a six pack, preferably a bubble lift with the heated seats. This keeps the bottom to top chairlift service for the diehards who don’t want to remove their skis, while improving the experience.
3. I like your idea for Flying Squirrel, but I wonder if it makes more sense to put a lift at the base of Warm Springs to the left of Challenger that runs up to where Flying Squirrel used to. Doing that provides 1 stop access to Frenchman’s, River Run, and Seattle Ridge better than Greyhawk. Maybe they could make the replacement for Greyhawk the one that starts part way up the mountain and proceeds to the top?
Again, just my wishlist. From what I’ve seen of their master plans, they also want to add another lift over by Seattle Ridge. It will be interesting to see how they proceed.
Can you link a master plan of the other lift by Seattle Ridge you are talking about? I have never heard of it. Also that gondola linking the two mountains looks interesting.
That Seattle Ridge beginner area plan sounds quite interesting. Yes, the terrain looks well-pitched and at a high-elevation. However, it is quite a pain to get there for beginners, which would likely deter them from going. When beginner areas are not located at the base and are moved uphill for better snow, there needs to be an easy way back and forth for beginners. A good example is High Meadow at Park City, where it is easily accessible via Red Pine Gondola, or the Eagle Bahn accessible Adventure Ridge at Vail.
Sinclair Oil doesn’t think gondolas are a pain for skiers. Not after opting for two 2400 pph gondolas at Snowbasin when bubble lifts could also reach 2400 pph or greater. They like gondolas and will do gondolas until there’s a new ownership. They are not winter only and gondolas work better for summer operations. I can’t see them changing their mind anytime soon.
Yeah, what I wrote was more of my “wish list” that built off of what Donald said he’d do if he was in charge. I know as long as the Holding family owns it, we’re more likely to see more gondolas in the future. And like I said, I think they make sense on the River Run side. I have ridden the gondolas at Snowbasin and they worked great. I guess I just prefer chairlifts.
Looking closer at the master plan above, it does show they plan to replace Challenger with a gondola. On the River Run side, it appears they want to convert the top station of the Roundhouse Gondola to a mid-station/angle station and then extend the gondola to the top, replacing the Christmas quad.
Titus Mtn NY has a vault drive Hall triple it was installed used in 89 it could be the Christmas lift because that was taken out in 88 maybe Eldora’s triple is actually Seattle Ridge?
is there a reason they are replacing the teardrop chairs, with a boneyard that big I can only imagine they have enough parts for them to last decades. Plus those early model EJ chairs are TERRIBLY uncomfortable and I can only imagine those padded back teardrops are light years more comfortable. Those old EJ chairs have this weird curved out backs with very thin piece of foam on them and the foam falls off quickly making it just a cold piece of hard steel, while those teardrop chairs look like sofas.
The lift on the right in this picture. I agree, it sure looks like a Riblet. I guess it is possible that it could be a housemade “counterfeit Riblet” like the former Stony Mountain at Kelly Canyon (https://liftblog.com/stony-mountain-kelly-canyon-id/), although I doubt it, especially because Sun Valley had no Riblets at the time.
Another pic of Ridge (the description of this image calls it a Riblet):
I think this next one is the top terminal of Ridge, but it could be Warm Springs:
It appears to be the old Ridge double and Christmas single. The image that you provided to be a slide scan and was accidentally flipped when it was scanned.
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It sucks that flying squirrel had burned it was nice if you did not want to go down the run all the way. Sad about cold springs lift I hope to see it. Considering that it is its last year! It will be the first riblet I will ever see. Considering I’ve never skied it.
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You should have been there for the single chairs with tarps over the legs. I do miss Squirrel chair but the Cold Springs chair is nice in that it is out of the wind and sunny. But new chair opens 400 acres of off-piste and it opens in ’19.
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Just curious, in the spreadsheet, why are the modified Yan detachables at Sun Valley labeled as being Doppelmayr lifts, while all the other converted Yan detachables are labeled as Yan lifts?
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I try and make a judgment call about the majority of components.
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went bankruped so switch alll running gear,in one summer
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Do you still have the pictures of the Yan Detachable terminals, grips, chairs, etc in the Cold Springs Boneyard on your computer?
I’d love to see them and any other pre-modified Yan detachable/ Boneyard Yan pictures. Thanks!
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These were taken in 2004.
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Peter, do you know if the YAN bubble is still there or any of the chairs?
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Idk about the bubble chair, but as of 2016, the boneyard is still intact. Here are the coordinates: 43.651967, -114.360299
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I checked out the boneyard today. I couldn’t find the bubble chair, but I was able to find the rest of the Yan quad chairs, along with two Doppelmayr EJ chair frames, one Thiokol triple chair, and a few Yan triple chairs. They also have some old haul ropes with grips still attached. I was able to find a couple Yan towers and sheaves around the area. It looks like another Stadeli handle tow had been brought to the boneyard. Could it be the lift that the carpet lift replaced at River Run?
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I find it ironic that the bubbles on the Yan quad look like they’re in better shape than many Doppelmayr lifts built around the same time. At least Yan could build bubble chairs well.
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Was that bubble chair on any of the sun valley chairlifts and if so which one
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No, the bubble chair was from Whistler. Considering that the chair still had its type 7 grip attached, I don’t think it ever operated at Sun Valley.
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A lift at Lake Louise had yan bubbles.
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The lift in question is the friendly giant quad. It had bubbles and gondola cabins at one point, but not permanent.
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Are the Christmas and Frenchman’s teardrop chairs going in there too, now that they are being replaced?
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No plans to replace Christmas and Frenchman’s that I know of. Challenger and Greyhawk being replaced by a HSS this summer and a new HSQ from Warm Springs to near the top of Upper Picabo.
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Given that the YAN HSQs that were built for SV in 88 will be coming up on 30 years or already are, do you think we’ll see some replacements announced in the not too distant future? I realize that Doppie upgraded those lifts in the 90s, however, did they touch the drive gear, or just the carriers?
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Nevermind, I did not look close enough, it appears that the YAN terminals were replaced.
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Yes and no. The grip running rails and accel/decel equipment were replaced but the drive systems are still Yan. http://www.skilifts.org/old/images/resort_images/id-sunvalley/greyhawk/topstation3.jpg
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It’s a mix at Sun Valley some of the Yans have had full driveline retrofits but it appears they have done them only as needed, you can tell by looking at the drive terminal bull wheels some are all Doppelmayr some still have yans a cast steel center but a new wheel mounted.
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After the Cold Springs replacement, I heard a (somewhat) credible rumor that the next two lift projects in the works are Mayday and Challenger replacements. Mayday Express would be a detachable quad starting slightly further downhill closer to Seattle Ridge’s base terminal. Challenger 2.0 would be a gondola and used in both summer and winter. The timeline is definitely a handful of years down the road but will apparently be fast-tracked if there is a large increase in visitors due to the Epic Pass this winter.
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The original Christmas single lift is still in operation at Mt. Eyak Ski Area in Alaska.
This season will be its 80th anniversary, and the area is apparently committed to keeping it.
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With ridge lift I thought it was an old riblet before 1965 it has the classic towers with tapers at the bottom here’s a link of the lift https://mountainscholar.org/bitstream/handle/11124/9236/R1061.jpg?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
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I just checked an appendix in one of the biographies about Riblet. It says they built a lift there in 1957 that was 4,500 ft long. No name attached to the lift, but that’s about the right length for Ridge.
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There was a short lived Riblet double that preceded the Sunnyside triple that is completely absent from this spreadsheet. When the triple was installed, the Riblet was removed and sold to 49 Degrees North WA where it operates to this day as Silverlode https://liftblog.com/west-basin-4-49-north-wa/
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I had the 1967 Riblet listed as Ridge #5. Perhaps the original Ridge double lasted longer than I thought.
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I feel like, if I were in charge of Bald Mountain’s future, this is what I would do:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1AVGhVm8x6oXb-8IbkDNkqd7BM0kAemh9&usp=sharing
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/viewer?mid=1AVGhVm8x6oXb-8IbkDNkqd7BM0kAemh9&ll=43.66798366718396%2C-114.38886364999999&z=14
* Replace Mayday with a high speed quad
* Replace Lookout Express with a high speed six pack
* Replace River Run with a high speed six pack running to the former ending location of Sunnyside
* Replace Challenger with a gondola or chondola
* Construct a high speed quad running from the former starting location of Flying Squirrel up to the Lookout summit.
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I’d say for the six pack replacement of River Run to have a midstation where the top terminal of River Run currently is, before continuing up to where Sunnyside’s top terminal used to be. When I was at Sun Valley in 2015, I noticed that the River Run lift and the green beneath it was used by a lot of beginners and lessons. Plus a midstation would provide direct access to Lookout Express like the current River Run does.
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That was kinda what I was thinking: that there would be a mid-unload turn station where River Run currently unloads for beginners and those headed directly to the Lookout Express, before continuing up Sunnyside’s lift line.
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I was up at Sun Valley this week (unfortunately, not for skiing), but it got me thinking about improvements. I like your vision, especially when it comes to the River Run replacement. I guess here is what I would do differently…
1. Put the future gondola at the River Run base, next to Roundhouse Express. It seems they want the gondola to bring non-skiers to their lodges at off-hours/off-season times, and they will want something to take people to the new Lookout Lodge, whenever it is built. River Run is becoming the main base area and they already use the Roundhouse gondola for a similar mission, so why not put both off-hours lifts together? It would also add a second bottom to top lift at Baldy and fit with their dream/plan to add a gondola connecting the Sun Valley Resort to Dollar Mountain and the River Run base (https://www.ecosign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/sunvalley-gondola.jpg). Guests could go from the Sun Valley Lodge to the top of Baldy with 2 gondola rides.
1a. Obviously this gondola would have to serve as a replacement for the current Lookout Express because of the alignment. I think that would be fine, but if they found enough people didn’t want to proceed all the way to the base, they could always put in a new Lookout lift, just moving the top station over so the gondola station could fit between it and Christmas.
2. Make the new Challenger lift a six pack, preferably a bubble lift with the heated seats. This keeps the bottom to top chairlift service for the diehards who don’t want to remove their skis, while improving the experience.
3. I like your idea for Flying Squirrel, but I wonder if it makes more sense to put a lift at the base of Warm Springs to the left of Challenger that runs up to where Flying Squirrel used to. Doing that provides 1 stop access to Frenchman’s, River Run, and Seattle Ridge better than Greyhawk. Maybe they could make the replacement for Greyhawk the one that starts part way up the mountain and proceeds to the top?
Again, just my wishlist. From what I’ve seen of their master plans, they also want to add another lift over by Seattle Ridge. It will be interesting to see how they proceed.
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Can you link a master plan of the other lift by Seattle Ridge you are talking about? I have never heard of it. Also that gondola linking the two mountains looks interesting.
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Yeah, here is the one I’ve seen. It’s old, but a good chunk of what’s in here has been done over the years:
Click to access stelprdb5348527.pdf
The new Seattle Ridge lift is discussed on page 8. Looks like they’d add terrain on the south side for novice skiers.
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That Seattle Ridge beginner area plan sounds quite interesting. Yes, the terrain looks well-pitched and at a high-elevation. However, it is quite a pain to get there for beginners, which would likely deter them from going. When beginner areas are not located at the base and are moved uphill for better snow, there needs to be an easy way back and forth for beginners. A good example is High Meadow at Park City, where it is easily accessible via Red Pine Gondola, or the Eagle Bahn accessible Adventure Ridge at Vail.
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Sinclair Oil doesn’t think gondolas are a pain for skiers. Not after opting for two 2400 pph gondolas at Snowbasin when bubble lifts could also reach 2400 pph or greater. They like gondolas and will do gondolas until there’s a new ownership. They are not winter only and gondolas work better for summer operations. I can’t see them changing their mind anytime soon.
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Yeah, what I wrote was more of my “wish list” that built off of what Donald said he’d do if he was in charge. I know as long as the Holding family owns it, we’re more likely to see more gondolas in the future. And like I said, I think they make sense on the River Run side. I have ridden the gondolas at Snowbasin and they worked great. I guess I just prefer chairlifts.
Looking closer at the master plan above, it does show they plan to replace Challenger with a gondola. On the River Run side, it appears they want to convert the top station of the Roundhouse Gondola to a mid-station/angle station and then extend the gondola to the top, replacing the Christmas quad.
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There’s a typo in the notes section on Mayday. Shouldn’t it say “hydraulic?”
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Your listed vertical of 2160′ for the Gondola is too high. I couldn’t find an “official” number, but pretty sure it is in the 1900-1950′ range.
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Peter just snagged pictures of the original Christmas lift at its new home in Alaska:
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What happened to the Cold Springs Riblet? Was it sold or scrapped or is it in the boneyard? I could use some clips and the rope
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It’s in California now:
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7 million dollars to retrofit 7 yan deatachable quads that’s so much money
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And now a single detachable quad is that much money
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here is a video of the old Yan high speed quads
4:18 to 7:03 you can see the old Yan high speed quads and greyhawk
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Christmas single when it was still here https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mrs-jacqueline-kennedy-rides-the-chair-lift-up-bald-news-photo/515516262
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Some of the old singles:
If i had a time machine, you would probably find me in one of these photos
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believe I figured out what happened to the two of the three halls.
2. Christmas lift went to Eldora mountain where it ran as Challenge.
3. River run went to sky tavern. The lift got YAN modifications in 1988 when Christmas hsq went in.
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Someone said that Christmas ended up going to Sky Tavern at Reno and was modified by Yan… 1992…
https://liftblog.com/sky-ridge-sky-tavern-nv/
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Titus Mtn NY has a vault drive Hall triple it was installed used in 89 it could be the Christmas lift because that was taken out in 88 maybe Eldora’s triple is actually Seattle Ridge?
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is there a reason they are replacing the teardrop chairs, with a boneyard that big I can only imagine they have enough parts for them to last decades. Plus those early model EJ chairs are TERRIBLY uncomfortable and I can only imagine those padded back teardrops are light years more comfortable. Those old EJ chairs have this weird curved out backs with very thin piece of foam on them and the foam falls off quickly making it just a cold piece of hard steel, while those teardrop chairs look like sofas.
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Can’t speak on the safety or anything like that, but I definitely feel that the teardrops are much more comfortable.
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Christmas’ chondola replacement is next, right?
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The 1957 Ridge chair was definitely a Riblet. You can see a picture of it here: https://www.remontees-mecaniques.net/bdd/reportage-tsf1-mt-eyak-american-steel-wire-company-7976.html
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The lift on the right in this picture. I agree, it sure looks like a Riblet.
I guess it is possible that it could be a housemade “counterfeit Riblet” like the former Stony Mountain at Kelly Canyon (https://liftblog.com/stony-mountain-kelly-canyon-id/), although I doubt it, especially because Sun Valley had no Riblets at the time.
Another pic of Ridge (the description of this image calls it a Riblet):
I think this next one is the top terminal of Ridge, but it could be Warm Springs:
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I don’t think that first image with Ridge on the right loaded. Here:
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Well yeah now that second one does look more riblet.
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The picture you posted there of the top terminal is not Ridge, it has the post 1965 slip cap tower heads.
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Eh.. I’m not so sure.. it looks a lot like a hybrid. Almost more like the old late 30s vintage American Steel and Wire lifts they had at Sun Valley.
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Old chair 1 at Baker had this same tension terminal, definitely looks like a Riblet to me.
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my response had been to the first photo before he added the second photo. The chair on the right on the first looks American steel and wire.
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Similar vintage Riblet (former chair 2 at White Pass, built 1958):
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://liftblog.com/chair-1-white-pass-wa/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1745482341993646&usg=AOvVaw2BPSyCkr0c6FUPJRNOMDwQ
The bottom terminal looks near identical to me.
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Can anyone identify if this photo is from Sun Valley?
https://imgur.com/444QwRQ
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It appears to be the old Ridge double and Christmas single. The image that you provided to be a slide scan and was accidentally flipped when it was scanned.
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